AMERICAN POOL
Official Title  American Pool
Common Title  American Pool
Serial Number(s)  SLUS-01488
Region  NTSC-U
Genre / Style  Sports / Pool

Developer  Digicube.
Publisher  Mud Duck Productions.
Date Released  5 June 2003
Disc Number &
Printed Serial Number
DISC 1

SLUS-01488
Serial Number In Disc SLUS-01488
Media Disc ID N / A
Number Of Tracks 1
( 1 Data Track )
Approx. Image Size
( Image Format Used )
MB
( .bin / .cue )
Approx.Size On Disc MB
Approx. Archive Size
( Archive Type Used )
MB
( 1 RAR File with
2% Recovery )
Barcode Number(s)
( UPC / EAN )

From the back cover.
  •  093155122703  - 
     

  •  


English
Menus and gameplay are in English.

With American Pool, publisher Mud Duck brings a budget-priced virtual 3D billiards presentation with three modes of gameplay to the PlayStation. In Training mode, players learn the controls and various pool techniques by solving tasks and problems, while Pocket Game mode offers five types of pool including 9-Ball, 8-Ball, Basic, Rotation and 14-1 Rack. The final mode, Pool Contest, is a 9-Ball bracketed tournament in which players create their own character and level up with special shots and techniques as they advance through the pairings.

Examples of special skills that can be earned include Low Tech (adds a visual line from the cue ball to facilitate aiming), Easy Shot (drops the speed of the power gauge by one-third), and Free Ball (allows the cue ball to be placed in any location). As players reach higher levels of skill, additional abilities are unlocked. Specific conventions used in American Pool include "Texas Express Rules" in 9-Ball games, the requirement to "call your shot" in 8-Ball, and the loser of banking in 14-1 Rack taking the break shot.

It's relatively simple stuff - the action is viewed in the first-person; you see directly down the cue and behind the cueball, so as to minimise problems lining up shots. In addition to the obvious tasks of judging angles and the power with which you wish to hit the cueball with, there are some extra options to consider once you've got into the swing of things. You can tinker with top and back spin, both very useful attributes and, if you're feeling really ambitious, sidespin and cue angles can be adjusted. The complexity of the matches generally depends on the style of player you are, but they are usually fairly brief duels.

What you get here are three main modes of play - training, pocket game and pool contest. Training is actually a rather misleading name as it's levels are more trickshot-based. There are twenty or so shots to attempt, with the added bonus of them all being available from the start, so you'll never be stuck on one individual level. Pocket Game allows you to take on a friend or the computer in five different styles of pool, such as Rotation, Basic and good old 8-ball. The innovative mode however is the Pool Contest.

The Pool Contest is a knockout tornament whereby you and 31 other players are placed into a draw, with the aim being to win five consecutive matches to take the title. This could have been a truly superb mode - the more you play, the more you are rewarded with experience points and 'level ups' (anyone who has played a role-playing game in the last ten years should be familar with this). Novelly, when you reach certain levels of experience, you are gifted some kind of new ability - lines to show how balls will react upon hitting a cushion and more accurate power bars amongst them. The big problem lies not in the design of the game, but the fact that you have to play 9-ball rules.

For anybody unfamilar with this form of pool, basically there are nine balls placed on a table each with a number between one and nine, and they must be potted in order. The really annoying thing is, whoever pots the decisive 9th ball wins, regardless of what went before. So, feasibly it is quite possible to lose a game despite potting eight of the nine balls. Where is the fairness in that? As time passes, you wish you could just scrap the first eight balls as they are effectively pointless, and winning is much more down to luck than skill.

  Manufacturer's description:

Give it your best shot!

* Play any one of five billiard games including: 8-ball, 9-ball, and straight pool.
* Run the table with the easy-to-use interface for english, cue position, and shot strength.
* Compete against your friends or computer opponents.
* Stunning 3D graphics and realistic ball physics.

  Features:
  • First person perspective.
  • 3D graphics
  • Cartoon graphics
  • Pool theme.
Number Of Players  1 or 2 Players
Number Of Memory Card Blocks  1 Block
Compatible Controllers Tested
( Official Gamepads Only )
 Standard Controller ( Analog Controller compatible )
Compatible Light Guns
( Official Light Guns Only )
 None
Other Compatible Controllers
( Official Controllers Only )
 None
Special Controllers Included Or
Supported ( Official Only )
 None
Vibration Function Compatible  No
Multi-Tap Function Compatible  No
Link Cable Function Compatibile  No
Emulator  ePSXe v.1.7.0
Video Plugin  Pete's OpenGL Driver v2.9 ( internal X & Internal Y= Very High, Stretching mode: Stretch to full window size, render Mode: 2 (Use framebuffer object) text filt = 2 FPS limit= 63, Compatibility=2,3,2; Shader effects= 1 (Fullscreen smoothin))
Audio Plugin  ePSXe SPU Core v.1.7.0
CD-ROM Plugin  ePSXe Cdrom plugin
Game Pad Plugin  N / A
Vibration Compatible  The game doesn't have it.
Console Bios Used  SCPH7502

  NOTE:   This is not the only possible combination of plugins. There are others that will work (better or worse) for your particular hardware. We provide you with one working set-up so that you may get the game up and running, hassle-free. Testing other emulators/plugins is up to you.
 

 BASIC CONTROLS:
  Highlight selection, change viewpoint, alter contact point, angle of strike on cue ball -  D-Pad
  Confirm, begin shot -  X Button
  Cancel -  Circle Button
  Alter point that you will strike on cue ball -  Square Button
  Alter angle to strike ball -  Triangle Button
  Zoom in -  L1 Button
  Zoom out -  R1 Button
  Toggle ball numbers -  L2 Button
  Move view to face cue ball, free viewpoint mode -  R2 Button
  Move view above table -  Select Button
  Menu -  Start Button

 FREE VIEWPOINT MODE CONTROLS:
  Zoom in or out -  D-Pad Up or Down
  Rotate camera left or right -  D-Pad Left or Right
  Move camera up or down -  L1 or R1 Button

 

GAMESHARK CODES:
  8-Ball, 9-Ball & Matches - Max Points P1 -  
8008847C 0064
 
  Basic, Rotation & 14-1 Ball Codes - Max Points P1 -  
8008847A 0009
8008847C 0009
 

 - Jewel Case Covers
FRONT BACK INSIDE
CLICK THE IMAGE
Dim. - 650 x 650 pix.
Res. - 72 dpi
File Size - 63 KB
CLICK THE IMAGE
Dim. - 620 x 531 pix.
Res. - 72 dpi
File Size - 68 KB
MISSING
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 - Disc Cover
DISC
MISSING
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 NTSC-J:
  • Billiard King [Nice Price Series Vol. 04] [SLPS-03368]  - 
     
 PAL:
  • American Pool [SLES-04037]  - 
     

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